1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 708 Reading more books is beneficial!

"Anna, please make a note of this copyright infringement case between Universal and Nintendo. Let me know when the results are in!"

After Sidney left, Li Changhe gave Anna instructions.

"Okay, boss!"

Anna was a little puzzled as to why her boss would pay attention to such a minor copyright infringement case.

But I immediately jotted it down in my sketchbook.

Anna was well aware that anything the boss asked her to write down was definitely something he had an important purpose for.

"By the way, could you also help me find some information about this lawsuit? It would be best to arrange for a lawyer to explain it to me."

Li Changhe thought for a moment, then gave Anna another instruction.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away!"

Time passed quietly, and three days later, Sidney came to Li Changhe again.

This time it was in the Los Angeles office.

"Boss, this is the contract drafted by my legal department regarding the compensation for the company's core directors, as you mentioned. Do you see any areas that need adjustment?"

Sidney Schirenberg respectfully placed the new contract in front of Li Changhe.

This contract was basically drafted by him, Gaspberg, and the head of the legal department.

It was basically based on Spielberg's needs.

Anyway, Li Changhe also said that Spielberg is one of the big directors he has his eye on.

Therefore, Spielberg's needs undoubtedly fall within the scope of the core director contract.

Li Changhe took the contract and began to read it.

For some big-name directors, the treatment is indeed extravagant; for example, the director's production fee has risen to thirty million US dollars.

These days, the production cost of a movie is usually less than ten million US dollars. Spielberg's Jaws cost seven million US dollars to produce, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial cost ten million US dollars to produce.

Thirty million US dollars, tripling in size, is an absolutely huge investment these days.

"Sean, I noticed that you didn't include any penalties in the contract if the film was a failure."

After flipping through it, Li Changhe casually remarked.

After listening, Sidney Sheinberger immediately explained, "Boss, since you mentioned their core benefits, I didn't list any overly strict restrictions. Besides, I think that given Steven's level, the possibility of losses is very low."

To say that there was no ulterior motive in this contract would be a lie.

Jews are not that selfless!
“We want to give these directors core benefits to bind them to our company, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to give them unlimited freedom. The company is also responsible to its shareholders.”

"I have a system at my film company on Hong Kong Island that allocates production costs based on the box office performance of the films they make."

"Simply put, the more profitable the movies you make for the company, the more control you have over the production costs in the future. Conversely, if you lose money, your production costs will be reduced."

"Of course, we have certain exemptions for core directors, but that doesn't mean there are no restrictions on them at all."

“Go back and revise it, make some improvements. Let’s start with an initial budget of 20 million US dollars. That’s already considered a big production in Hollywood.”

"Of course, such contracts can provide different treatment based on different people's status. Each person can be negotiated individually, and you can decide the specifics yourselves."

At this moment, Li Changhe gave an order to Sidney.

Sidney nodded immediately: "Understood, boss!"

Sure enough, Mr. Victor wasn't completely ignorant about the film industry; he really did know a thing or two.

No wonder his company in Hong Kong was able to produce such an excellent film as "Parasite".

"There's one more thing, Sean. I had someone check, and it seems your chances of winning the lawsuit against Nintendo aren't that high."

"The copyright for King Kong is held by Universal, but there's a portion of it that's in the public domain, right? Are you sure Universal will win?"

At this moment, Li Changhe slowly asked Sidney.

Sidney's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

Goodness, why would our boss care about such a trivial matter?
Sidney was at a loss for words. Was he trying to exploit the copyright issue and profit from it?
The copyright of "King Kong" is indeed very complicated because it was filmed too early. After the director finished filming, he also commissioned someone to write a novel of the same name. So, King Kong actually had the film rights first, and then the novel rights as well.

The founders of King Kong are all dead, and Universal bought the novel rights from their successors. However, part of the King Kong copyright is in the public domain, so from this perspective alone, it's difficult for Universal to completely sever Nintendo's claim.

"Sheen, have you considered what would happen if Universal lost this lawsuit?"

Without waiting for Sidney's reply, Li Changhe continued to ask.

Sidney Schinberger finally spoke up at this point.

"Boss, the lawsuit against Nintendo was an unexpected event that we discovered. If we lose the copyright case, we will only lose some legal fees."

"This was a gamble from the start!"

He had no choice but to tell the truth. The situation was obvious; the boss had already done his research.

Li Changhe shook his head: "Sidney, you're right, but it's actually too simple."

"As you've seen, the US gaming market is actually huge. Now that we've found this opportunity, why not stick with it?"

There is a saying in the East: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."

"Since you're going to take action against Nintendo, why don't you investigate Nintendo's situation?"

"Doesn't it have any competitors in Japan?"

"If we win, we can cut Nintendo's copyrights, but conversely, if we lose, why not cooperate with Nintendo's competitors?"

"As far as I know, there is a game console company called Sega in Japan, which is also a competitor of Nintendo. You can find an opportunity to learn about them, and perhaps we can cooperate with them in the future."

Li Changhe said calmly.

Sidney, however, was somewhat bewildered after hearing this.

“Boss, if we’re looking to collaborate with game companies, we don’t actually need to go to Japan. We have plenty of game companies in the US.”

"Atari, the largest game company in the United States, has a partnership with us, so we can definitely partner with them!"

Sidney blurted out instinctively.

Atari is the largest video game console manufacturer in the United States. Steve Jobs worked at Atari before he founded Apple.

That famous Breakout game was the result of Jobs' team at the time.

Li Changhe smiled and said, "So, can you acquire Atari? Even if you could, how much is Atari worth?"

"Do you think Japanese companies are cheaper, or American game companies?" "If we acquire Japanese companies, in addition to the American market we help them develop, they can also expand into the East Asian and Southeast Asian markets."

"But if we were to acquire Atari, do you think it would be easier for us to expand into the Asian market?"

Li Changhe's series of rhetorical questions left Sidney speechless.

Indeed, Japanese companies are much cheaper than American companies, and game consoles are not actually that difficult to make; the main challenge is game design.

"Boss, are you planning to enter the gaming industry?"

Sidney was puzzled. Seeing how knowledgeable his boss was, was he already planning to enter the gaming industry?

"Anna, show him!"

At this moment, Li Changhe called Anna in and then gave her instructions.

Anna nodded, then spoke to Sidney Sheinberger.

“Mr. Sidney, please come with me.”

Then they led him to a computer.

"This is a personal computer manufactured by [loong] Technology Company. It has games developed by [loong] Technology Company on it."

Soon, Anna began demonstrating to Sidney, including Tetris, and then the latest gem-matching variations.

For Li Changhe, this kind of mini-game was a piece of cake; it was just a simple elimination mechanism, but it was actually very attractive.

In the past, match-3 games, from Tencent's Happy Match to the later popular WeChat game "Sheep and the Sheep", were all variations of match-3 games.

However, every single one of them is extremely popular.

Because the simpler the game, the more challenging it is.

With Anna's explanation, Sidney also tried it out and quickly discovered the fun in it.

This game is easy to pick up and play, with no difficult controls, but even he, who doesn't usually enjoy playing games, found it quite interesting.

If you can play this during your free time at work, it's quite a way to pass the time.

Afterwards, Sidney reluctantly returned to Li Changhe's desk.

"Boss, so you already have a game development team under your command?"

Sidney exclaimed in surprise.

"Not really, it's just a simple game development team at a computer company. That's what inspired me when you mentioned Universal's desire to enter the game industry."

"Now that we have these finished products, why don't we find a game company and fully enter this industry?"

"But there are too many game companies in the United States, the competition is too fierce, and the costs are too high. I think Japanese game companies are the most suitable, and also suitable for me to expand the market in Hong Kong."

"Furthermore, the Japanese understand you Americans very well. Their home appliances, cars, and now emerging game consoles have had a significant impact on your market, which also shows that their products are acceptable to you."

"Universal has a large number of film copyrights, which can be turned into game mechanics. We can complete the game production in Japan and then expand into the US and global markets. This is a more cost-effective route for us."

"Go back and look into this matter, and see if you can push it forward within Global."

At this moment, Li Changhe gave an order to Sidney.

The gaming industry is a lucrative business and an important complement to the computer and film industries.

The rise of online games has greatly boosted the development of the computer industry.

The expansion of computers and internet cafes in China back then was essentially the expansion of online games. Eight out of ten people who went into an internet cafe were there for the online games.

Needless to say, the situation in the United States is even more complicated.

Now that Global Times has noticed this, Li Changhe naturally went along with it.

It would be too much trouble for him to build a game company from scratch on his own. Using Universal's name to acquire companies in Japan, or even just to cooperate, would be much simpler.

After all, the US market is the most important market for Japanese game companies, and Universal is now a well-known name with many film and television themes that can be adapted into games. It is hard for Japanese companies to refuse such a collaboration.

"Understood, boss. I'll arrange for someone to investigate as soon as I get back. By the way, what's the name of that company you mentioned in Japan?"

SEGA

"They should have a branch in the US too, you should check it out!"

Li Changhe said casually.

His understanding of the gaming industry actually came from the novels he read on Qidian in his previous life. He had read a novel about a reborn person who went to Japan to work in the gaming industry.

In the 1980s, the Japanese game industry was dominated by Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom.

Neither Sony, which will make the PS, nor Microsoft, which will make the Xbox, have yet entered the gaming business.

Unfortunately, now that Universal and Nintendo are at odds, Sega is probably the only company that can be acquired.

He recalled a major collapse in the US video game industry, which seemed to have occurred in the early 1980s.

It's already 1982, and it still hasn't happened. It'll probably happen next year or the year after, which is why he rejected Sidney's acquisition of Atari.

He remembered that the decline of video game consoles in the United States was apparently caused by Atari, but unfortunately, he didn't remember the details well; he just knew that such a thing had happened.

Li Changhe now feels very emotional about how he was immersed in online novels back then. This is the benefit of reading more books. You can know a little bit about even the most obscure historical events!
Having made all these arrangements, Li Changhe had nothing to do in Los Angeles, and he had fed Adjani. So, after giving Anna some instructions, Li Changhe prepared to head to San Francisco.

Just as Li Changhe was preparing to leave Los Angeles, in an ordinary residence in Los Angeles, James Cameron had just taken off his dirty suit and lay on the bed with a dejected look on his face.

Failed again!

Sure enough, the failure of "Piranha 2" caused many production companies to lose faith in him and distrust his directing abilities.

So even though they appreciated the script, they were unwilling to let him direct it independently.

But the Piranha movie was clearly edited haphazardly; if it had been edited according to his ideas, the Piranha story would definitely have been more exciting.

Those damn idiots!
James Cameron then picked up a can of beer from the table, opened it, and gulped it down.

Ding Dong!

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door.

James Cameron put down his beer, walked to the door, and opened it.

Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man in a suit and tie.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Cameron, I'm Edmund Cisco, a producer at Universal Pictures. You can call me Edmund!"

(End of this chapter)